Fresh from staging 32 shows of her play Fully Sikh in Perth, Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa is now in Melbourne for another project which showcases untold, and as yet unspoken stories of South Asian women living in Australia.
Called Sisterhood Saga, it delves into the lived-experiences of three women who share personal stories of ‘sisterhood’. One of the three narrators is 60-year-old Amarjit Kaur, performing on a Melbourne stage for the first time ever. She is Sukhjit’s mother, who lives in Perth.
“Now that I’ve retired from work and have more time, I went along for a session at the Centre for Stories which was founded by Sukhjit in Perth. I just happened to narrate the story of a long lost friend Adriann Smith, who went from being a total stranger to more than a sister for me,” Mrs Kaur told SBS Punjabi.
Amarjit Kaur, Sukhjit's mother and one of the performers in Saga Sisterhood Source: Supplied
“We had recently moved from Bahrain to New Zealand in September 1987 and I was pregnant with my second child. My daughter was 15 months at the time and I needed to buy gripe water for her,” she said.
‘I stood at a bus stop, wanting to go to the city to buy the gripe water, when a woman asked me who I was and whether I was new in the area. Her name was Adriann Smith and very kindly she offered to buy the gripe water on her trip to the city and deliver it to me.”
Ms Kaur says addrresses were exchanged and she still isn’t sure why she opened up to a stranger like that, but Ms Smith soon became a close friend, who would check on her every few days.
Mrs Amarjit Kaur, with other members of her family, enjoying Sukhjit's stage performance Source: Supplied
‘We kept in touch for a few years after my family moved to Australia, but I lost her details thereafter and there was no contact.”
Even whilst Ms Kaur was narrating this story at the Perth workshop, her daughter Sukhjit – who was hearing of this for the first ever time – was able to find Ms Smith on social media and her mother in touch.
The two met earlier this year when Ms Kaur travelled to New Zealand and Ms Smith is planning to travel to Australia for another reunion next year.
Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa says, “It’s stories like these – of real women who have never actually performed before, that I want to showcase. The media is full of stereotypes about South Asian women, and we need to change that narrative with authentic stories about love, friendship, belonging, family and identity.”
Amarjit and Sukhjit, the mother daughter duo coming together on stage for Saga Sisterhood Source: Supplied
"There are three narrators, a singer as well as a dancer, all exploring these stories in a unique way," she adds.
Saga Sisterhood is part of Mapping Melbourne 2019 which features more than 100 artists from Asia and Australia between November 30 and December 2019.
To hear our conversation with Amarjit Kaur and Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa, click on the audio link above.
